Disorientation
by undertheradar
Summary: Two people, strangely catlike, travel to Seattle to help the Transgenics in a time of need. Post Freak Nation. Mostly Alec centric.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Don't own Max, Alec, or any of the other people created by James Cameron and the powers that be who own Dark Angel. Tegan, the rest of the Armstrong family, and anything having to do with them is, however, mine.

AN: This is my first Dark Angel fanfic. I've been reading them for awhile and started thinking about what would happen if I combined the Dark Angel universe with one I've had in my head for a long time. This will probably be more than one story. For now, I'll let you read.

Prologue

As the transgenics raised their flag in Terminal City, a young woman rode rapidly down a wooded road outside of Seattle on a motorcycle. She grinned when she saw a van parked on the side of the road, the tall young man it belonged to leaning against it and smoking.

"Trouble?" he called out.

"Nah," she said, pulling up in front of the van and turning the motorcycle off. "Stopped for news on Seattle. Some interesting shit's going on. I'll tell you about it on the way. Oh, and there's a checkpoint up ahead about ten miles."

He sighed as she walked over to him. "Why does this part of the country have a billion checkpoints? It's not like it's more important."

Taking one last drag, he flicked the cigarette onto the road in front of her. With a roll of her eyes, she grinded it under one boot heel.

"Let's get the motorcycle all secure in the van and get going. I'm so sick of these fucking woods and, as much as I love the death out of you, I'd like some interaction with other people."

"Ditto, buddy. Ditto," she said, running over to the bike and pushing it towards the back of the van.

The others had long since left the top of the building. Only Max and Alex remained. Alec sat at the base of the flag pole, looking out at Seattle while Max continued to stare at the flag, her thoughts consuming her.

Alec looked up at her, a grin spreading across his face. "Whatcha thinking about, Maxie? You look pretty absorbed."

She looked down at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"Wow, you were REALLY absorbed in your thoughts huh?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess. I have this feeling. Somebody's coming."

"Now? Like at Jam Pony? They're gonna attack?" he asked, quickly jumping up.

"No, not now but soon and I don't really know. All I know is that somebody's coming."

"Real useful there, Max."

She sighed. "I'm gonna go get some food. You coming?"

"I'll be down later. Oh, and by the way, I would just like you to know that I am completely heartbroken that you have gotten back together with Logan without even informing me, the man you were in a pseudo-relationship with."

Rolling her eyes, Max gave him the finger. "You're an ass," she told him, turning to leave.

"If anybody asks where I am you tell them I'm up here brooding over the loss of my bitch of a girlfriend!" he yelled at her departing back. When she'd left, he chuckled a little then looked out over the city once again, absently wondering who would be coming to Terminal City.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: You learn more about the two new characters here. I hope you all enjoy this! I have a number of the chapters written already. I just don't want to post them all up before I'm finished writing the story. I'll probably post once a week. Maybe more. I guess we'll see.

Chapter 1 – Answers and More Questions

"I hate car rides."

"We're not in a car. We're in a van, brat."

"I hate van rides too."

"Gee, is it because you're so restless all of the time? Go put together a gadget or something. Sketch out an idea. Something."

"Why? We're almost there."

"Brat, I'm gonna kill you when we get there. Stop being difficult."

She smirked. "You won't kill me. You love me too much."

"Yeah? Push just a little more and we'll see about that."

There was a whole minute of silence before she said, "Colin?"

"Yeah, brat?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, kid."

"…how much longer until we're there?"

He glared at her then turned on the radio. Glancing suspiciously at her, he noticed how her eyes were dancing with amusement and reached over to turn the volume up.

She waited a moment then lowered the volume a bit. "How are we getting into this Terminal City place? I mean, I'm kinda thinking the transgenics won't just let us drive in there. They've probably got pretty good security being military-trained and all."

"One of us will have to find a way in and convince them we mean them no harm. The other will scout the city," he told her without taking his eyes off of the road.

With a sigh, she said, "Let me guess. I'm doing the scouting job. I ALWAYS get stuck with the scouting job."

"You wanna establish contact then you go right ahead. You know as well as I do that you're horrible with the whole people thing."

"Fuck you."

"Rather not."

"I'll establish contact. You scout."

"Fine, brat. You fuck this up and you'll be the one to tell your parents what happened."

"Yeah, yeah. Once we get past this damned checkpoint you can let me out if you want."

He smirked. "You just wanna get out of the van."

"And you want me out of the van," she said with a grin.

"True."

They reached the checkpoint three minutes later and Colin handed the police a bunch of papers. They were quickly handed back and the van was waved through.

Ten minutes later, Colin pulled the van over to the side of the road. "Go on," he told her.

She grinned, leaning over to hug him then jumping out of the van and running to the back. He followed her out and to the back.

"You have your phone right?" he asked, putting his right hand in his jean pocket while scratching his head with the left hand.

"Yeah, in my pocket," she told him, handing her backpack to him as she climbed into the back.

"Need help with the ramp?" he asked, taking his sunglasses off and sticking them in the pocket of his jacket.

"Yes, please," she said. He jumped in to set up the ramp so she could get her bike on the road.

"Have some money?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Your papers?"

"Yes."

"Your –"

"I have everything, DAD."

"Just making sure."

Once the ramp was set up, she rolled the bike down and gave him a hug before pulling out her own sunglasses and putting them on. Colin handed her the backpack she'd left in the dirt by the side of the van, which she slung securely on her back before getting onto the bike. "I'll call you tonight," she told him.

"You better. By the way, what kind of interesting shit's going down in Seattle?" he asked as she started the bike.

"Oh, that. The transgenics are holed up in Terminal City and the cops and National Guard have them surrounded. It's what you'd call a siege, I suppose," she told him right before speeding off down the road.

His mouth dropped open and he fumed as he shoved the ramp back into the van, closing up the back. He climbed into the driver's seat, slamming the door hard before starting in the same direction she'd gone.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Mole. What's going on today in the freakiest of Freak Nations?" Alec called out in a chipper voice, a bounce in his step as he walked into HQ.

He stopped when he realized nearly everybody was staring at him. "What'd I do now?" he asked as Max's eyebrows raised.

"You find a female in here stupid enough to sleep with you or something?"

"Now, Maxie, I'll have you know that I was quite the catch back in Manticore," he told her.

"Uh huh," she said disbelievingly.

"Hey! Wait a second! What does that have to do with anything anyway?"

"It doesn't but when you walk in here all happy like that when we're in the middle of a siege and rapidly running out of resources, one assumes you got laid."

He smirked. "Jealous?"

"In your dreams."

"Oh, a whole lot more happens in my dreams, Maxie," he said with a wink before walking quickly over to the supply list before she could whack him. "Damn, we're really starting to run low, aren't we?"

"Yeah, too many transgenics, not enough time to prepare for a siege…we need to come up with a solution and soon."

Alec frowned in thought then walked to the door. "I'm gonna look around. See if I can come up with anything."

She scowled as a drop of rain hit her nose. "Fucking Seattle! Stupid transgenics couldn't have settled somewhere not so rainy. I hate the rain!" she muttered before zipping up her hooded sweatshirt and pulling her hood up over her head as she sat on her bike, looking at the police and military stationed at the broken gate of Terminal City.

She'd already ridden around the perimeter twice, the most she allowed herself without really being noticed. They were doing a good job at keeping everybody away from the transgenics home. Sighing, she debated on her best plans. She could just walk up and reveal her papers, which would leave her the problem of what to do with the transgenics. She could try to sneak in, again leaving her with the problem of the transgenics but not revealing to the military and police that she was present. Or she could reveal herself to the transgenics in some way.

"What to do, what to do…"

Her nose wrinkled again as water hit her cheek. Tugging at her hood so that it covered more of her face, she looked more carefully at the scene in front of her. Her eyes narrowed and her body stiffened when she spotted somebody from her past.

"Well, well, looks like Ames White is now in Seattle, huh?" she said to herself. "Given up torturing little girls and boys in your quest to be the superior part of the human race? Now you're just hunting down people created by your father? You are definitely something to write home about. Or call. Later. Maybe after I torment you a little."

Her decision made, she rode her bike up to the police line and pulled out her ID. "I'm Special Agent Tegan Armstrong. I have orders which require me to be in there," she told the office, while pointing into Terminal City.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I can't let you go in there."

"And I'm afraid you have no choice," she told him, pulling out a bunch of papers and showing him the Presidential Seal. "Orders are straight from the President."

"Um…I…"

"Why don't you go get whoever's in charge so I can speak to them?" she suggested, taking off her sunglasses and smiling sweetly.

He nodded then frowned as if forgetting something. "Don't move!" he warned.

"Uh huh." She smiled again, putting her sunglasses in the pocket of her sweatshirt.

Ames scowled as he noticed the girl on the motorcycle speaking to the General. He appeared to be arguing some point but the girl would just gesture to the papers in her hand.

Finally, the General backed away and gestured the girl through. Ames frowned and started forward towards them.

Suddenly, she turned to look at him, grinned, and waved. He growled as she revved the bike's engine and flew into Terminal City. He chased after her until he got to the border, where if he passed he would probably end up shot and facing the inability to explain why he was still walking.

Cursing, he longed for something to throw. Hard. Preferably at somebody. He'd recognized the girl's face from years ago. She'd grown into a strange mixture of her mother's and father's faces but there was still that annoying mischievous quality about her…a mischievousness which loved to see him thwarted in everything he did. She'd been doing it for years since the last time he saw her. She had left just enough clues so that he knew it was her.

If the Conclave found out she had gotten into Terminal City he was in big trouble. He had to figure out a way to remedy this situation and quick.

Alec had been walking for at least an hour, coming up with possible plans to get resources. Of course, he'd have to do more research into whether or not they were plausible not to mention safe when he got back to his office. Then he'd have to run the best ones by Max.

He was startled out of his planning by the loud rev of an engine. He watched in shock as a girl streaked down the road on a motorcycle then skidded to a halt five feet away from him. She pushed her hood back, running a hand through messy dark hair before glaring up at the sky. In the back of his mind, he registered that she was probably the most striking girl he'd ever seen.

"Nasty rain. Stupid fucking Seattle," he heard her mutter before she looked at him.

"Hello," she said. "You're not trying to shoot me yet so I guess you're the one I should talk to."

They both looked in the direction of angry shouts. "And fast," she added. "My name is Tegan Armstrong. My family sent me to help your people."

He frowned. "Why would your family help us? Haven't you been watching the news? We're not human. We're not even animals. We don't have souls. If you don't watch out we're going to be stealing your job and your daughters…sons too I suppose."

She laughed. "Well, I have no children so no worries there. My family employs me and doesn't particularly care for strangers. And we have something in common," she told him, reaching up to remove one of her contacts.

His mouth nearly dropped open when he saw that her eye was an odd mix of human and cat. Reaching into the front pocket of her backpack, she pulled out a case for the contact and stuck it in before taking the other out and doing the same with it.

A bunch of transgenics surrounded them, guns out, just as she finished. "Alec, you okay?"

"Just fine. Put your guns away. She's cool."

"Transgenic?"

"Something like that," he told them. "I'll go with her to HQ to talk to Max. You can all go back to your posts."

He waited until they had all gone before approaching her. "Nice bike."

"I know. Max is the one in command right?"

"Yeah, you could say that. I'm her second."

Tegan nodded, thoughtfully. "So let's go. I wanna get my bike stowed somewhere dry before it starts to pour. Same with myself."

He climbed onto the bike behind her. "Make a left up ahead then go straight until the middle of the third block. Stop there. We'll figure out where to stick your bike when we get there."

Max was staring down in frustration at the maps spread out in front of her when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Even as she turned around she knew it would be the person her instincts had earlier told her was coming. Standing slightly behind Alec was a tall girl. She was thin and somehow delicate looking with eyes that looked oddly cat-like. Those eyes were looking around HQ with disdain.

"Wow, your equipment doesn't even rate third-rate! Where'd you find this junk?"

Max bristled. "You think you could find better in post-Pulse Seattle with no money and without raising suspicions?"

"Find? Probably not. Build or improve on? Without a single doubt."

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Tegan Armstrong and my family sent me to help."

"Why?"

"Once you are all safe you'll be in the position to help us," she told Max. "Well, if you want to. Free will and all that. But we'd appreciate it."

She looked over at the computer system, fascinated. Walking over, she bent down to examine it. "You know, if you redirect this to here you'd increase time efficiency by ten percent."

Max watched as Dix and a few other transgenics good with machines and computers wandered over to see what she was talking about.

Tegan glanced back at Max before she explained. "Have somebody find out about the Pride Corporation. You'll get some of your answers that way. Until then, put me under guard or something. Pretty boy over there is nice to look at. Might distract me," she said with a leer. Pausing, Tegan shrugged. "Of course, put a decrepit piece of machinery like this in front of me and I'll be MUCH more distracted."

Max couldn't stop the grin that appeared when Alec's shoulders slumped at the thought of a pretty girl being more distracted by machines than by him. "Alec, watch her. I'm gonna go see Logan."

Alec grumbled but nodded as Max left HQ. "How pathetic is this? A soldier reduced to babysitting duties," he muttered.

Tegan, who had turned back to the computer, looked back at him briefly. "Hey, it could be worse there, buddy. I could be old, ugly, and fat. Or you could be stuck with latrine duty or something."

Logan grinned triumphantly as he managed to get onto the Net. He bent down, kissing his keyboard.

"Wow, never thought I'd be jealous of a computer."

Logan jumped, looking over to see Max leaning against a wall watching him with a smile. "Max! What's up?"

"There's a new girl in HQ. A weird one. Need you to check up on her. Pretty sure she's not Manticore."

"Name?" he asked, eager to help.

"Tegan Armstrong. She said to look up The Pride Corporation."

Frowning, he typed it in. "Why does this sound so familiar?"

Max shrugged and looked around. Logan, Sketchy, and O.C. had settled into a building close enough to the outskirts of Terminal City that the toxins didn't seem to effect them. It was, like most of the buildings, completely neglected and falling down.

"We really need to start fixing the buildings up," she absently commented. "At least enough so that they don't collapse on our heads."

Logan grunted in response, his gaze rapt on what his computer screen was showing him.

"What IS that?" Max asked, looking over his shoulder.

"The Pride Corporation's headquarters apparently. Located in New York State, it is probably one of the largest non-military facilities in the country. Maybe even the world."

She stared at the picture of a large steel building in the middle of the woods. "Almost reminds me of Manticore."

Logan called up more information. "They apparently own a vast amount of property. Not only in the United States but in Africa, Australia, Europe, and Asia also. The Armstrong family founded the company. Nicholas and Aya. There are some pictures of Aya available…a very attractive woman. None of her husband. Private family. Three children – James, Sean, and Tegan in that order. All work for The Pride Corporation, which is mostly split into two smaller companies. Tara Laboratories, which was started by Aya – who, by the way, is apparently a brilliant scientist – and Armstrong Securities, started by good old Nicholas."

"Let me guess," Max said, with a small frown. "She works for the Securities part."

Logan pulled up information on Tegan. "Mostly but it seems she floats around. And it looks like she's started her own company under The Pride Corporation umbrella. She's a multimillionaire in her own right – owning several advanced technological patents. Seems she inherited her mother's brains."

"Any connections to Manticore or the Conclave?"

"Not that I can see. A bunch of government connections including one very big familial connection to the President but all of it is in opposition to our friend the Senator."

Max growled. "She said I'd get some answers but all I've got are more questions!"

"I'll keep looking," he said with a sigh.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: Thanks to everybody who reviewed. I appreciate it. If you have any suggestions, please give them. Questions, please ask and I'll try to answer.

Chapter 2

Tegan finished explaining the finer dynamics of their own computer system to the transgenics then stood up and stretched as they messed around with it. After a minute, she started to pace under Alec's watchful gaze.

"I'm booooorrreeeddddd," she whined.

"SOMEbody has a short attention span," Alec commented.

"You have NO idea," Tegan told him. "My best friend says I have the attention span of a 2 year old on crack. My family generally agrees. The only time I pay attention is when I'm playing around with my toys or when I'm working."

He watched amused as she stretched again, this time bending backwards until her hands were touching the floor. Pushing off with her feet, she did a handstand. His amusement faded into extreme interest as her shirts slipped down to reveal a toned abdomen.

"Hey, pretty boy, you're staring and I think I might see a little bit of drool there," she called out. "Like what you see? I can show you more if you want."

Alec's mouth dropped open as she lifted one hand to her shirts, inching them up her body a bit. Suddenly, she laughed and pulled them back to the waist of her jeans.

"Yeah, right. You totally WISH I were that easy," she said, pushing off with the one arm and doing a flip.

There was a 30 second period of silence before she started chattering again. "Bored bored bored. Don't suppose you guys have anything fun to do around here. No bars, clubs, movie theaters, et cetera?"

Alec cocked an eyebrow at her and she sighed. "That's what I thought. A gym? I could work off some of this excess energy. Oh, or how about a building I could jump off of? I could always use some practice with that. A garage? Anything?"

Alec started to chuckle. "A 2 year old on crack."

"Totally."

"Will a TV do?"

She sighed. "I suppose. How many channels do you manage to get in here? Satellite? Have any movies? My mom has a HUGE collection of pre-Pulse movies," Tegan told Alec as they walked to his apartment.

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh. My mom loves movies. Dad indulges her. Ten years ago he and I created a movie theater in the Rock just for her."

"The Rock?"

"Oh, that's what we call our house. Well, the one we usually reside in."

"Who exactly is we?"

"Ummm, my family?"

"Yeah, it just all keeps coming back to your family, doesn't it?"

She looked at him as if he were insane. "What else is there?"

Alec shook his head, entering his building and taking the stairs to the third floor. "So, you're not Manticore, right?"

"Nope, not created in a lab. One hundred percent natural."

"So, you know of Manticore?"

"I do possess the ability to read and hear so yeah, I know of Manticore. News reports all over the place about Manticore."

"Hmm…"

He reached his apartment and unlocked the door, throwing the keys on a table and holding the door open for Tegan. "Come on in."

She walked in, looking around with interest. "So this is where the big bad wolf lives, huh?"

"No canine in my cocktail but yes, this is where I live."

"Oh, I know there's no canine in your DNA. I would imagine it wouldn't mix well with the feline that IS in it. I can smell that."

"So it's not just your eyes?" he asked with interest as he closed the door.

"Nah, enhanced vision, superior hearing, great sense of smell – unfortunately at times…like when passing a garbage dump or a sewage plant or anything else that smells just so nice – and quick reflexes. Oh, and I land on my feet. I think I may be more cat than you are actually."

"How – "

"Am I like this? Mutated DNA as far as anybody can tell. Now, where's your remote?" she asked, settling herself down on the couch.

Max and Logan walked into Alec's apartment to find Alec staring in an odd mix of horror and awe at the girl sitting on his couch, flipping rapidly through the television channels. Alec looked over at them, shaking his head.

"Get any answers?" Tegan asked without turning from the television.

"Some. A lot more questions."

"Of course," Tegan murmured then cursed as her phone rang. Looking at the display her eyebrows shot up and she answered it with an enthusiastic, "Hey!"

"Hey, Brat. You get into Terminal City without getting shot?"

"Duh, yeah. Safe and sound. Watching TV actually. Makes me miss home."

"Watching – what the fuck are you doing watching TV? We're working here!"

"I knooooowwwww that. Trust me, I'm working. Anyway, why'd you call?"

"Oh, White's in town so be careful."

"Yeah, I already saw him. Can I kick his ass? Please?"

"No. Just be careful. Did he see you?"

"Possibly. When did you see him?"

"Few minutes ago. He drove by as I was walking around."

"Ah, you be careful too then. You're more vulnerable than I am as far as randomly running into him and being surprised. Anyway, is that it?"

"Yeah, but call later and update me."

"Will do. Bye bye, Colin!"

Colin hung up, tucking his phone into his front jean pocket. Looking around, he sighed. He didn't think he'd ever get accustomed to Post-Pulse America and he could only imagine how much worse it was for his parents and the rest of the older people in his life. He'd been a teenager when the Pulse had hit, causing nationwide economic depression.

While his family through foresight, preparation, and the ability to adapt, hadn't been affected money-wise, it still hurt to see everybody else struggling to survive.

Shaking his head, he went back to business. Now that he'd checked to make sure his brat of a cousin was safe, he'd be able to concentrate. He had a specific agenda and step one was to familiarize himself with the city of Seattle. By the time he was done he would know details on every building.

He sighed again. This was Tegan's specialty. He was better with people. Tegan, with her inability to stand still, was better at skulking around, getting information, and remembering everything.

Vaguely he wondered why Tegan had wanted the social part of this job. If it had been anything other than spite that made her take it. With a shrug, he went in search of a place to stay, right in the middle of the first sector he was going to map out.

"So, who's Colin?" Alec asked.

"My cousin. He's mapping out buildings."

"A simple Net search would do that," Logan told her, condescendingly.

Tegan rolled her eyes. "Nooooo, a simple Net search would tell you what is SUPPOSEDLY in buildings. Normally I do what Colin is doing but I took this job instead."

"You were in the mood to slum it? We saw the place you live in," Max commented.

"The Rock?"

"Huh?"

"That's the name of the family's main home. It's a bit of a joke. Pride Rock…it's from an old Disney movie."

Alec's eyes lit up. "Disney? All of the old Disney movies are rare! Do you have any? Do you know how much money they're worth?"

"Not more than what Dad would pay to kick the ass of whoever stole from us," Tegan told him, narrow-eyed.

"Is that what he did to the people who kidnapped you?" Max asked abruptly in an attempt to shock the other girl into giving them more information.

Tegan paled. "No, those – the ones he caught at least – they were killed. And trust me when I say that they deserved it. Now, I need some air so if you'll excuse me."

Alec watched as she quickly exited his apartment then looked over at Max and Logan.

Max sighed. "Why do I suddenly feel bad?"

"Um, because you just made a young woman pale so fast she looked like she was about to pass out?" Alec offered.

"Shut up, Alec," she said with a scowl. "I'll go talk to her. From the sound of it she went up and not down."

Max found Tegan standing on the edge of the roof, looking out over Terminal City.

"Not as fancy as what you're used to huh?"

"You'd be surprised at what I'm used to," Tegan told her without moving. "Do you think it's gonna rain soon?"

"Huh? No, not for another couple of hours is my guess. Look, I'm sorry about bringing up the kidnapping thing."

Tegan nodded sharply. "It was the Conclave who kidnapped me. Just so you know. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Max watched as Tegan jumped off the building. Running to the edge, she looked down to see Tegan walking leisurely down the street.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

AN: Not much to say except to thank X5898 for reviewing the last chapter.

Tegan wandered the streets looking aimless to passersby. In reality, her mind was in overdrive. Things she strove to forget kept popping up and she was trying her hardest to push the memories down by making mental notes about Terminal City. She popped her head into buildings, finding the infirmary and generator among other useful things.

With a sigh, she entered another building, fading into the shadows before realizing it was some sort of gym. She watched as X-5's sparred for a minute then slipped out of the building unseen.

She headed in the direction of HQ. If nothing else, maybe she could work some more on her bike. At least it would help her forget. Suddenly she was struck with a feeling of homesickness. She hadn't seen her home and her immediate family in months. She needed a vacation very soon.

Reaching her bike, Tegan looked around for her tools and cursed. She'd left her bag in Alec's apartment.

"If they go through it, I'm gonna have to kick some butt," she muttered.

She sat down on her bike and pulled her cell phone out of her sweatshirt's pocket.

Max walked back into Alec's apartment, confused. Logan, worried, stood as soon as he saw her.

"Max, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, fine. But Tegan just jumped from the top of the building and walked away from it."

Logan looked surprised. "But…she's not Transgenic so how?"

Rolling his eyes, Alec shifted in his seat. "You miss the freaky cat eyes, Logan?"

"Manticore?"

"She says no, that it's natural but she could be lying," Alec told them.

Max and Logan both thought about it while Alec looked around his living room, trying to figure out what was out of place because something definitely was. With a frown, he walked over to the door and looked around again. Spotting the backpack behind a chair, he walked over and bent to pick it up.

"Seems our girl forgot something when she left."

"Good. You can go find her, give her that, and keep an eye on her," Max told him. "Try to get some more information on her."

Alec groaned. "Oh, c'mon, Maxie! Haven't I done enough babysitting for one day?"

"Nope, now go. And don't forget to look through that bag before you give it to her. Confiscate any weapons."

Logan waited until he was gone before turning to Max. "There a reason you keep sticking him with that girl?"

Smirking, Max shrugged. "Other than it's fun? And that I do trust Alec even though he's a pain in the ass? And other than the fact that he's VERY attracted to her so I know he'll actually watch her and not shirk the duty?"

"Ahhhh," Logan said, nodding.

"Uh huh. Now, I need you to continue researching her family. See if you can find out anything weird. Somebody has had to have seen something in all these years. Maybe Tegan was experimented on when she was kidnapped and that's why she has the eyes and such. Or maybe she was adopted and doesn't even know she's Manticore?"

"I'll look into it. What are you gonna do?"

"I've gotta figure out how to get more supplies. We are seriously short."

"All right. If I find anything I'll come find you," he told her, leaving Alec's apartment.

Max sighed, rubbing her hand over the back of her neck. "What the hell is going on here?" she muttered to herself before leaving the apartment and heading back to HQ.

Alec whistled as he walked around Terminal City, looking for Tegan. He finally found her, lounging on her bike with one foot on the ground as she talked on the phone.

She paused in her conversation when she saw him then looked away and continued to speak. "Uh huh, I miss you too. Call me if you decide to come out here and if you don't then I'll call you from Pennsylvania on our way back home so you can pretend not to be all excited and happy that I'm finally home. All right. Yeah, same here. Bye."

Looking straight at him, she cocked an eyebrow as she put her phone away. "You babysitting again?"

"Looks like it."

She nodded. "That my bag?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, handing it over.

"Thanks. I wanted to work on my bike before. Not so much in the mood now. So you guys should start restaurants and bars in here once the cops lay off. Start up your own businesses."

Alec looked surprised. "Uh, what made you think of that?"

With a shrug, she hopped off the bike. "I was looking around before. You've got some nice empty street-level spaces. Might as well put them to use right?"

"Yeah, true."

"Sooo, you wanna show me around," she asked, scuffing one shoe on the pavement.

"Oh, sure. We don't have much here though. It's pretty much your standard military operation."

"In other words, boring?"

Alec shrugged. "Hard to be bored when there's so much to do."

"Good point."

"Let's go this way. I'll show you the area."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Alec looked at her. "Are you okay? I know Max fucked up but she's really stressed out right now."

Tegan stopped, looked away, then shrugged. "I'm fine. No big deal."

Alec looked at her, disbelieving. "Uh huh. Just so you know, I've trademarked the phrase 'I'm always okay' so if you use it, I get to collect."

Cocking her head to look at him, she laughed. "If you say so, buddy."

They both started walking again. Alec pointed out the few sights they had as they went along and Tegan looked around with interest. While she had seen most of it in her journey from Alec's apartment to her bike, this city the transgenics had carved out for themselves seemed to take on a new light when seen through Alec's eyes.

"I can get you supplies," she told him quietly as he stared up at a decrepit building.

He looked over, surprised. "Huh?"

"I can get you supplies to fix the buildings. And if you need food and medicine. Stuff like that. I can get you that stuff," she said.

"But…why?"

"Because you need them. I can see how much this place means to you. There aren't any strings attached to what I can get you. Honest."

Alec sighed and shook his head. "I'm in no position to be making any kind of decision like that alone, Tegan. You hungry? We can go to the cafeteria and pick up some food. Hopefully somebody competent has been cooking."

Tegan looked up at the building then at him before she nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure. I haven't eaten all day."

"Good. Then we'll find Max and ask her where she wants you staying," Alec told her as he marched to the building which housed the cafeteria. "You know, we were originally gonna call it a mess hall but Max said it was too military-sounding. So we settled on cafeteria. They have those in schools but Max said you can find them as a kind of restaurant on the outside also. Not that I ever went to one. But that's what she says."

"Yeah, there are quite a few out east," she said, kicking a stone as she walked.

He opened the door, holding it open for her. "You miss it?"

"A lot. I haven't seen my family in months. I've been working for far too long. It's time for a vacation."

"All work and no play makes Tegan a dull girl?"

"No," she told him, walking through the door. "All work and no play makes Tegan a tired and worn-out girl. I am never dull."

Alec led the way into the cafeteria and she watched with interest as he was greeted by a large number of the transgenics present in the room. The females especially seemed friendly. Tegan rolled her eyes and waited patiently for a full minute before looking around and spotting the food. She walked a few feet before a hand on her arm stopped her. Surprised, she looked back and saw Alec looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Now, girls, you haven't met our most recent resident. This is Tegan," he said.

Tegan sighed as her gaze was met by hostile female glares. "Hey, everybody. I'd love to chat but I'm starving. Haven't eaten all day. Alec?"

"I'll talk to you all later!" he called out before pulling Tegan towards the food. "If I have to deal with them again today I'll fucking shoot myself."

"What? Can't take a little female admiration?"

"More like female obsession! They're all looking for a mate. I'm not into that. Not with any of them."

"Got anybody in mind?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow as she grabbed a tray from a stack turned over by the counter.

"No. Not at all. I like being free."

She laughed. "Yeah, that's what my oldest brother said before he got snared in by his wife. Now he's happily married and a father to two beautiful little girls, who take after their only aunt…or so my brother likes to complain. He's hoping the next one is a boy."

Alec shuddered in disgust, making Tegan giggle as she made food choices. "What about you?" he asked.

"Me? I enjoy being single. I'm always too busy to have a relationship anyway. Plus, there's the whole thing where my decisions on who exactly I can be totally open with are quite limited considering the whole feline thing. It's either somebody like me or a person like my mom who helps us. And honestly? I like my freedom…not having to answer to some guy who isn't related to me about what I do. So yeah, single for now…but who knows what the future holds?"

Alec couldn't help but notice that she looked somewhat wistful as she stood there, her hand paused momentarily in the process of putting dessert on her tray.

They finished getting their food and Alec looked around before leading her to the most private table he could find in the corner of the room furthest from the entrance. They both set their trays down and sat, eating in silence.

Alec finished his food first and watched her as she shoveled food into her mouth. "So, tell me about yourself. How old are you? What's your family like? What's your home like?"

Tegan looked amused but shrugged. "I'm 21…or I will be in another week and a half. My family is…great. I can't imagine being without them. My mom is the most supportive person I know and she's completely brilliant too. My dad says I inherited her brains. He's the best. He wasn't really around as much when my brothers were younger. He was trying to make things safe for the whole family but by the time I was born things had settled down a lot and he spent a lot more time at home. Started his own company at some point before I was born. Set up the whole system we have now. Made enough money and contacts to secure our future in post-Pulse America. Together of course. My mom and dad are an amazing pair and together I'm convinced they can do just about anything."

'You want that for yourself,' he thought to himself as he watched her eyes gleam.

"But ummmm, yeah, my dad is pretty protective of us all. He's worked hard to make us all safe and when anything threatens that he goes a little overboard. I have two brothers who take after my parents. My older brother, James, is more like my dad in temperament. He's a bit aggressive. He works for my dad's company. My other brother, Sean, is more like my mom in temperament. He's kind of the businessman."

"And then there's you."

"Yup, and then there's me. Everybody says I'm a mix of my parents. Sean says I'm a weirdo," she told him with a big grin.

"You're close to him," he observed.

"I'm close to my whole immediate family. And then there are the cousins and such. I miss them all…"

"Dad, are you sure it was a good idea to send TEGAN to do this? You know how she is!"

"James, please calm down. Your sister will do just fine. And I think it's about time we gave her more family oriented missions. We can't hide her away from the people who kidnapped her for all of her life," Nicholas Armstrong said, crossing his arms and looking out the window of his home office.

"Why not?" James asked stubbornly.

Sean pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against with a laugh. "Because Tegan would find some way to get into more trouble if we tried to hide her. You know she torments Ames White from a distance. She's been doing it for years."

"With help," James declared with a glare in his brother's direction.

Sean just grinned with a shrug. "Not just me. I think most of the family has helped her out with that at one point in time or another."

James glared. "But not with quite the frequency as you and Colin."

Sean's face sobered and James sighed. "It's because we failed her."

"We all failed her, son. All of us. If we hadn't she wouldn't have been taken in the first place," their father declared without turning away from the view of field and trees.

Sean didn't bother to argue with his father. When his father spoke like that the subject wasn't to be argued and he more than anybody, except possibly his sister, knew. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Despite what James thinks, Tegan is very capable. We've all taught her various types of martial arts and the kid's even gone out to learn stuff none of us even bothered to learn. She won't be caught unawares by anybody LEAST of all White and his group. Plus, let's be completely honest here. Out of all the people you employ, Dad, she's the best at reconnaissance. Then you have to consider the fact that Tegan's a genius. If she DOES get in a jam she'll figure a way out."

"Just like she did when she was little," James said with a sigh of defeat. "All right, I'll shut up. Just…I don't want her getting hurt. She's dealt with enough in her life. She doesn't need more pain."

Nicholas turned to look at his two sons. "She'll have to eventually. It's a part of life," he told them. "Now, I believe your mother called us to dinner ten minutes ago. She'll be pissed if we don't get our butts down to the dining room soon."

Sean chuckled. "Mom? Pissed? You mean, she'll yell and then shake her head and laugh at us for being so caught up in family business. Then after dinner she'll interrogate us all to find out what exactly was holding us up."

A small smile appeared on Nicholas' face as he walked towards the door. "Perhaps," he said, leading his sons down to the dining room.

Colin dropped his backpack near the door, walked over to the bed, and let himself fall onto it. He'd been mapping out buildings all afternoon and all he wanted now was a hot shower and sleep. Unfortunately he still had to call home, wait for Tegan's call, and go out and get food. Socializing wouldn't be a bad idea either. He needed to talk to as many native people as possible to get a feel for the area.

He groaned again when he thought of all the work he had to do tomorrow. Hopefully he wouldn't run into White. He'd seen the man three more times since the initial near-encounter. White's presence was definitely going to have to be in his report when he called Uncle Nicholas.

"Brat had better call soon," he muttered to himself, stretching out on the bed and relaxing.

After she was done eating, Tegan looked at the time and cursed. "I have to check in with my cousin otherwise he's gonna come storming in here."

"He would do that?"

"Oh, yeah. Colin can be super protective of me sometimes…and by sometimes I mean pretty much always."

"Weird."

"Not really. You'd have to know the whole story to understand I guess. Grown up around my family or something."

"Hmmmm," Alec said. Standing, he grabbed his tray and stuck it on the top of a pile sitting on a nearby table. Tegan followed his lead and the two walked outside.

Tegan looked warily up at the clouds. "It's not gonna start raining before we get back inside is it? I don't like the rain. It's cold and wet."

Alec shrugged, glancing up. "Never know with Seattle. Let's find Max. Get you settled in somewhere."

"Gee, let's go to HQ then. I'd be willing to bet she's there."

He chuckled. "You've got her number already huh? She's a bit of a workaholic but it's not like she really has a choice."

"Yeah, could be worse. She could demand the work of all the people below her and then be off sunbathing on the roof or something…oh wait, right, no SUN to be sunbathing!"

"You're very anti-rain aren't you?" he asked with a grin.

"VERY! Plus I just came from California. It was nice and warm and sunny there. Much more my style."

"Ah, California. Beaches, girls in bikinis…yeah, much more my style too."

"Pervert," Tegan said, rolling her eyes with a grin.

"Well…yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"Not at all!" she exclaimed, giggling. "I grew up surrounded by guys."

"Well then, as long as you have no nefarious plots to rid the world of transgenics, I think we'll get along just fine, Miss Armstrong," he told her with a wink.

She giggled again then pulled out her cell phone as they made their way towards HQ. Pressing the number 6 on her phone she hit "Call".

Colin picked up his phone on the second ring. "Hey, brat. Everything all right?"

"Yes, everything is perfect. I'm currently being escorted to HQ by a very nice young transgenic by the name of Alec. We just ate an early dinner," she told him.

He could hear the smile in her voice and sighed. "You sure he's okay? Should you be talking in front of him?"

"Doesn't really matter. What could I say that I'm not supposed to say?"

"True," he replied. "I've got this sector pretty much done. I'll head to the next by tomorrow afternoon. I keep running into White though. His base of operations must be nearby. Probably in a sector bordering this one."

"Be careful. You do NOT want to get caught by Ames, Colin. Trust me on that. And fucking with that arrogant piece of shit is my job. You're just the accomplice so don't try anything."

Colin rolled his eyes and walked over to the window of his motel room. "I know, brat. So you've made contact and you're safe?"

"Yeah, I can take care of myself, Colin. Look, I want to get some supplies in here. The buildings are in desperate need of repairs and they need some food supplies if the state of the cafeteria food is evidence of what they have. We'll have to figure that out. I'm gonna take a look around the perimeter from the inside tomorrow and I'll call you about it then."

"All right. If I end up stumbling across White's headquarters I'm going to place some surveillance."

His young cousin growled softly and he sighed in exasperation. "Tegan, we need to know what the hell the bastard is up to. I promise I won't get caught. And I'll call you right before I go in and right after. Okay?"

"Fine. Do something stupid though like get caught and I'll kick your ass after getting you out."

With a laugh, he nodded. "Yeah, I know, brat. Look, I'm hungry. I'm gonna go get something to eat. You calling home or should I?"

"You. I talked to Sean earlier today. He knows I'm in and I'm sure he told Dad and James by now. And I'm sure James has told Dad that I shouldn't be here doing this blah blah blah."

Frowning, he couldn't really contradict her. Her oldest brother probably had done just that. Out of everybody in the family, James was the most protective of his baby sister. "In other words, you don't want to deal with James tonight."

"Not really, no. Tell Daddy that I love him though, okay? And tell him to pass the message on to Mama also? Oh, and tell them how much I miss them too!"

He grinned wryly, thinking of how much she sounded like the little kid he'd occasionally babysat as a child. "Sure thing, brat. Oh, tomorrow I'll send you what I have so far. You can keep the big picture and study it."

"All right. I'll have fun and make a big 3-D chart!"

Shaking his head, he told her, "You do that. You and your toys. I swear, kid, I don't know what I'm gonna do with you. I'm gonna go get food then call HQ. Get some sleep! Night!"

"Night, Colin. Stay safe," she said softly.

He hung up, looked at the door to his motel room, then down at the phone. Instead of leaving the room, he called his uncle's office number.

Nicholas Armstrong studied the emails on his computer with a frown before pulling up a detailed list of employees and what jobs they were currently on. He was still studying it, trying to decide on who to put on the newest job, when his phone rang. Picking it up, he absently said "Armstrong Securities."

"Uncle Nicholas," came the response.

"Colin. Is everything all right?" he asked, sitting up straighter in his seat.

"Yeah, just calling to check in. Tegan told me she called Sean earlier but I just wanted to tell you we're safe. Tegan's in Terminal City with the transgenics. She's made contact and is apparently getting along well enough that she talks affectionately of one of them. I'm scouting buildings. White's here skulking around though."

"Yes, James was worried about that. I suppose the concern isn't quite as great as it would be if Tegan were scouting though. Anything else?"

"Tegan said something about supplies for the trangenics. Apparently the buildings are falling down. And they need food. Probably medical supplies too. Maybe some weaponry."

"All right. I'll place some calls. Call me tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir. Oh, Tegan told me to tell you she loved and missed you and Aunt Aya."

Nicholas smiled faintly. "Tell her I'll tell her mother and that we love and miss her also."

"Will do. Night!"

"Night, Colin. Both of you stay safe."

Nicholas hung up the phone and ran a hand through golden hair. The soft rustle of fabric made his head jerk in the direction of the doorway, his whole body stiffening. His wife stood there, looking as beautiful as she had the first time he'd seen her decades before.

"Was that Colin?"

He relaxed and nodded. "Yes, reporting in. Tegan is fine."

Aya's body slumped in relief. "I didn't even realize how worried I was until just now," she admitted to him.

He nodded, standing up. "I know what you mean. She's our youngest."

"Our baby…and she's been through so much. I just want her to be safe and happy," she said softly.

"We both want that," he told his wife, crossing the room to kiss her lightly. "How about we go watch a late movie?"

Aya nodded with a smile. "Sounds perfect," she told Nicholas as he grabbed her hand and they walked down the hall together.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

AN: I am having a very hard time getting the sections of the chapters to separate. I don't know if it's because I'm using a Mac or what but it's annoying the hell out of me. If anybody has a solution to this problem, please let me know. As before, thank you to X5898 for reviewing. Hopefully some of your answers are in this chapter. Also, two of my favorite Dark Angel writers on here just updated so please check out their stories if you aren't already reading them (because honestly, you should probably read them rather than this) – The Wisdom of War by Yodes and the Left Behind Universe series by Fayth3. On to the story!

Max looked up from the paperwork on her desk as Alec and Tegan entered her office. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing much. Just wanted to know where Tegan should stick her stuff, sleep…you know," Alec said, throwing himself into one of the seats in front of her desk.

"Hmmm." Max frowned, looking from Alec to Tegan. "Tegan, would you mind letting us talk for a moment? You should go talk to Dix about the computers or something. He was completely amazed by you before. I'm sure he has something you can look at."

Tegan rolled her eyes but nodded. "Sure thing," she replied, closing the door behind her as she left the office.

Max's eyes hardened. "Find out anything?"

"Her birthday is in a week and a half. She'll be 21. I'm pretty sure she'd kill for her family. She loves them that much and they seem to love her right back. She called her cousin while I was around. They were talking about White. Tegan said that it was her job to torment him. Told her cousin to be careful and that he didn't want to get caught by White, she said to trust her on that last part so I'm assuming she has been in the past. She wants to get us supplies to fix this dump up, to feed us, et cetera. Oh, and she's single."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Trust you to include that in a report on a female. Do you think she's trustworthy?"

"I think so…but it doesn't hurt to keep a close eye on her. We still don't know what's up with her DNA and stuff."

"Yeah…okay, she's staying with you then."

"What? But…but…Max, you can't do this to me!"

"Why not?"

"Because…it'll completely ruin the whole bachelor pad thing I have going on if I have a girl living with me!"

"And…?"

"This'll mean I can't bring girls home with me! Max, I know you're all jealous about me hooking up with all these girls but c'mon, this is cruel and unusual punishment even for you!" he exclaimed, his eyes pleading.

Max rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop acting like it's the end of the world, Alec. It's just temporary."

Alec's shoulders slumped and he stood. "Fine…but I expect compensation for this. How do you feel about doing my laundry for a month? Or…footrubs! Footrubs sound like a good idea!"

He just managed to open the door and slip out before a stapler passed through the air where he'd been standing. He found everybody staring at the office door as the stapler slammed against it and smiled. Scanning the crowd, he spotted Tegan sitting with Dix, talking. Alec walked over to them.

"Hey, guys! What's going on?"

"Nothin'," Tegan said absently, not even looking up at him. "So, yeah, I can definitely show you how to improve the bikes. I've actually been working on a hover feature for awhile but I haven't come even close to perfecting it. I could definitely use your help if you want."

"Really? I'd love to! In my free time of course," Dix told her, excited.

"Yeah, it'll be cool. Just, you know, let me know when your free time is."

Dix nodded with a smile. "You're not bad for a human."

Pointing to her eyes, she said, "Not exactly human but thank you. You're not so bad yourself."

"I hate to break up this mutual admiration party but it's probably gonna start raining soon so if you want to stay nice and dry, Tegan, we should leave now."

Tegan raised an eyebrow in his direction then stood up, grabbing her backpack from the floor. "Somebody's a little snippy."

"He had a meeting with Max. They fight a lot," Dix informed her before standing up and walking away from Alec, who was glaring.

"Interesting. So, where am I staying?"

"My place," he growled at her.

"Ah, and that explains the whole grumpy Alec routine," she declared as they walked out of HQ.

He remained silent, fuming as they made their way to his building. The truth was he didn't like being ignored and she had most definitely ignored him to talk to Dix of all people. Why Dix? He was infinitely more handsome, charming, and interesting to talk to than Dix! Okay, so maybe he hadn't read as much as the other transgenic...but he was more current on popular culture, right? What wasn't great about that? _Women_, he thought with disgust.

He held the door of the building housing his apartment amongst others open for her and they both ran up the stairs to his place. His door was one of the few that actually had a functional lock but Max and Logan had been the last ones to leave his place so he just pulled the door open.

"I guess I'm gonna have to get you a key or something," he commented idly as he closed the door behind the two of them.

She set her bag down on the floor in the same place he'd found it earlier in the day, looking around again. "Nah, I wouldn't really worry about it. You know, for an apartment located in a falling down building, this isn't too bad."

"Thanks," he said in a sarcastic voice.

"Yeah, no problem," she said, ignoring his sarcasm. "Where do I sleep? The couch?"

Alec sat down on said couch, stretching out his legs and turning on the television. "That would be my guess."

She stood there, studying him for a moment then shook her head and sighed. Walking over to the window, she looked out at the clouds, which seemed to grow darker by the minute.

"Could you STOP that?" Alec asked, annoyed.

Tegan glanced over at him, confused. "Stop what?"

"Stop drumming your fingers against the damned windowsill. It's really incredibly annoying."

She looked down at her hand to see that her fingers were doing that and stuck both her hands behind her back, intertwining her fingers to keep from doing it again. "Sorry," she muttered.

Turning, she watched him as he stared at the music videos on the television. "Those are really old," she told him. "Mostly from right before the Pulse hit. Since they were the last music videos made they just kinda replay them over and over and over again. Gets pretty boring after awhile. It's gotten to the point where my cousin started looking for bands and stuff. He wants to jumpstart the whole music business. Says that people will be less restless if they have more entertainment."

"Yeah, that's nice."

"See, I would have thought you would be all over that. You seem to be pretty into the whole entertainment thing," she told him, taking a seat on the far side of the couch.

Alec glared at her. "Could you PLEASE be quiet? Is it really that hard for you not to talk while I'm watching the boob tube?"

She threw up her hands in defeat and watched the television with a sigh. Her eyes widened when she recognized the next video as one of her favorites and she grinned. "Dance party!" she exclaimed, standing up and dancing.

Alec tried his best to ignore her but his eyes kept glancing in her direction until he was openly staring at her. She was getting really into it, her hips moving with the beat of the music and her ass shaking. She looked extremely free as she moved. His eyes turned back to the television as she looked in his direction.

Laughing, she danced over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. "C'mon, dancing is fun! And I can guarantee that dancing with me is WAAYYYYY more fun than watching some old video."

He needed no encouragement and moved with her. Dancing, he decided, could definitely be considered foreplay. His thoughts ran in that direction for another thirty seconds before he stepped away from Tegan.

"What are you doing?" she whined, grabbing at his arm.

He shrugged her off, walking to the window. "It's raining," he told her.

"Who cares? I'm nice and dry inside. Why'd you stop dancing?" she asked, inching closer to him.

He moved towards the small kitchen. "You want any water?"

"Noooo, I want to know why you stopped dancing," Tegan said, following him.

Alec turned, almost tripping over her. "Look – " He stopped when he realized that her eyes were sparkling with amusement. "You already know, don't you?"

"That you're attracted to me? Oh, yes. Is that why you stopped?"

"You know damned well that it is," he grumbled.

"But why?"

"Because…because I know absolutely nothing about you. You could be spying on us for all I know. You could be the enemy!" he declared, leaning in as close as he dared.

She shrugged, looking up at him with a slight smile. Before he realized what she was doing, she reached up, grabbed his face, and kissed him quickly. Turning, she danced over to the couch where she grabbed the remote and changed the channel.

He stood there, trying to process what had just happened. With a frown he walked over to the couch, leaning on the back of it. "Why'd you do that?"

"Because I wanted to…and because I'm mischievous. Besides, nothing wrong with a little kissing," she told him, without taking her eyes off the television, which was now playing some old movie.

"I'm going to remember that," he told her, making it sound like a threat as his breath tickled her ear.

She grinned. "You do that," she replied. "For now, why don't you take a seat and enjoy the movie? I might not even flip through the channels a billion times."

His hand on the back of the couch for leverage, he jumped over it then sat down next to her.

Max looked over her papers, frustrated. They had a route through the sewers that they could use to get in and out of Terminal City but she didn't see how they could get the massive amount of supplies they needed in that way unless they started off small. They really couldn't afford to start off small.

Logan walked in then, grinning. "You will never guess what I just did! You have to come see!"

Max stood, walking rapidly with Logan to his apartment. As soon as they entered, Logan made a bee line to his computer set up, looking back at Max expectantly.

Max followed, looking over his shoulder at the screen. "What is this?" she asked with a frown.

"I hacked into the Pride Corporation's system. This is the profile on Tegan."

Max looked at the screen again, where it displayed a picture of Tegan and vital information.

**Name:** Tegan Emily Armstrong

**Birth Year: **2000

**IQ:** Off the scale

**Degrees:** BS in Mechanical Engineering (MIT, 2013), MS in Mechanical Engineering (MIT, 2014), Doctor of Science (MIT, 2016)

**Martial Arts:** Karate - black belt, 8th degree

Tae Kwon Doe - Black Belt, 7th degree

Kendo - Black Belt, 6th degree

Judo - Black Belt, 4th degree

Ninjitsu - level unknown

**Other fighting techniques:** Unknown

**Gun Proficiency:** Proficient but rarely used

**Languages:** English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Gaelic (Irish & Scottish)

**Specialties:** Reconnaissance, Engineering, Computer Hacking, Computer Program Design

**Problems:** Tegan is an off the chart genius. Unless completely engaged in what she is doing, she has issues with paying attention. Tegan is also prone to nightmares due to being kidnapped at age 6 and experimented on/tortured for five months at which point she escaped and made her way to the closest Armstrong facility. See attached file for more information.

**Last Assignment:** Private Op. for President, Los Angeles, CA

Partner - Colin Armstrong

**Current Assignment:** Operation Freedom X-V, Seattle, WA

Partner - Colin Armstrong

**Future Assignment:** Possible Operation Freedom X-V.ii, Pride Corporation HQ

Max frowned, leaning as far over Logan's shoulder as she dared. "What's the attached file look like?"

Logan pulled it up and they both recoiled at the photos of the young Tegan looking emaciated and beaten up.

"What the hell did they do to her?" Logan asked, repulsed. He scrolled down past the pictures finding a transcript of an interview between Tegan and her father.

**Family Interview with Tegan**

Nicholas:Tegan, honey, can you tell me where you were?

Tegan: An old private school prolly about 70 miles west of Albany.

N:Was it in use?

T:Uh huh but not by normal kids. The kids were all weird. I only

saw them for a little bit but they were weird, Daddy.

N: Do you know who kidnapped you?

T: They were some big group of weirdos. They liked snakes. And this

one boy was a little older than James. His name was Ames.

He told me that they were superior to us because they'd been

breeding perfect humans for ages.

N:Did he tell you why they took you?

T:They said I wasn't human. Somebody saw one of us without

our contacts in. They wanted to know what we are and what

we can do. What it means to them. He asked if we'd been

made by scientists. I laughed at him. Who would voluntarily

make people like us, Daddy?

N:I don't know, baby. Is that why they hurt you?

T:I think so. But sometimes Ames would just look at me and

get really mad. And then he would hurt me. He got really

mad when he found out how smart I was. I guess they don't

have very many geniuses in their thingy. They

tested me and I was off their charts too! They didn't find out

what I'm really good at though.

N:Good for you, Tegan. How did you escape?

T:I observed like you taught me and I found a hole in their

guard duty. Then I found another one and another one.

Then I made a lock picking device out of some of the toys

they gave me to play with to keep me quiet 'cause I was complaining about being bored and I unlocked my cage and I

snuck out. When I got outside I ran into the woods and I

went east. I could smell the Hudson reaalllyyy faintly from

where I was and, Daddy, it smells even far away.

N:(laughing roughly) Good girl, Tegan. Then what?

T:I used all the survival stuff you taught us when we were all

really little. And I stayed away from people because I didn't

have my contacts anymore. Then I smelled Cousin David and

he called you and you came and got me and now I'm home!

You taught me well, Daddy.

**Doctor's Report**

Physical: Tegan's left arm is broken. During her escape, she apparently took the time to set it. She did a good job as it's healing nicely. Tegan is very undernourished leading us to believe they fed her just enough to keep her alive. She is also somewhat dehydrated. Her right leg was broken at some point in captivity. It healed badly and needs to be re-broken and set correctly so it won't cause her great pain in the future. She has many cuts, none of which are infected. There are also burn marks and bruises.

Mental: Tegan has been having extremely bad nightmares to the point where she doesn't want to sleep anymore. Other than that, she seems to be doing much better than expected. The support of her family seems to be helping greatly. Tegan getting back into her normal routine should help her as would seeing a therapist regularly.

Max stood up straight still staring at the screen. "How could they do that to a kid regardless of whether or not she's completely human!"

"The same could be said about Manticore," Logan commented.

"Yeah, but it's different with us. We were created by Manticore. She wasn't created by these people. They kidnapped her from her family who loves her to experiment on her and torture her. Neither one is right but at least we weren't ripped away from a loving family."

Max shook her head and walked to the middle of the room, looking around blindly. "No wonder she freaked out when I brought it up. I would have kicked ass if I were her."

"You didn't know, Max, so don't blame yourself."

She nodded then looked back at the computer. "Does it say what exactly her current mission is?"

Logan frowned, turning back to the computer, his hands flying across the keyboard. "Fuck!" he exclaimed.

"What? What happened?"

"They must have stuck some sort of virus into their system in case anybody attempted to hack into it. It just fried my computer!" he yelled, pounding his fist against the desk.

"Ummmm, I guess I should go," Max said, backing up.

Logan grunted in response, already hunched over his computer.

Max walked out the door then down two flights of stairs, stopping when she came to the apartment she was sharing with Original Cindy. Opening the door, she walked in to find O.C. lounging on their couch, painting her toenails. O.C. looked up when she walked in and smiled.

"Hey, boo!"

"Hey, today has been the weirdest day ever. You do not know how good it is to come back here and find you doing something completely normal."

"What happened?" O.C. asked with a frown.

"Well, first…"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

AN: Sorry it took awhile to get this chapter up. I've been busy. Thanks to X5898. I tried the whole separate by using characters. It just doesn't show up for some reason. I'll keep trying though.

The next morning found Tegan walking around the perimeter without being seen. She had snuck out of Alec's apartment while he slept to look around. Pausing at a corner, she frowned then sighed and walked out into the open.

"Guess I'm in trouble huh?" she asked Alec, who was leaning against a wall.

"Oh, just a little," he said sarcastically. "Care to tell me why you're sneaking around?"

"I'm looking for a way to get supplies in," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And you didn't wake me up because…?"

"You looked all cute sleeping," she admitted. Looking up at the sky, she asked, "Is there much aerial surveillance of this place? How fast do you think they'd be able to get planes and shit here?"

"Why? What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"Hmmmm…I need to do some hacking," she told him, walking back in the direction of his apartment. He followed close behind.

As soon as she entered the apartment, she made a beeline for her backpack, which she rummaged through before pulling out a very thin laptop and some wire. She hooked the wire up to the laptop then pulled out her phone and hooked the other end up to that.

Turning the laptop on, she hunched over it, her fingers flying over the keys. He watched, somewhat amazed, as she pulled up a page of military and police department resources in the area. Saving each file, she pulled the wire out of the phone, picking up the phone and dialing a number.

"Colin, send me whatever you have. I want to be able to do some work before it's a decent hour in New York and I can call Dad."

She hung the phone up, reconnecting the wire to the phone. Looking up at Alec after accepting the file her cousin was sending, she said, "This is gonna take awhile. Wanna go get some food with me?"

Alec rolled his eyes. Like he was just going to let her go strolling off wherever she wanted alone. "Fine, but you're explaining some things."

"Ookay," she said innocently, strolling out the door with Alec in tow.

&. &. &. &. &.

Max was sitting in the cafeteria when Tegan and Alec entered. She watched, amused, as girls descended upon Alec, who didn't even notice. He was too wrapped up in talking to Tegan. Chuckling, she took a bite of her breakfast.

"This is like watching television…only better," she commented to Mole and Joshua, who were sitting with her.

Mole grunted then said, "That the new girl?"

"Yeah," Max said, not taking her eyes off of the pair, who were placing food on trays.

Joshua stared at them. "Alec happy."

"Sure looks like it, doesn't it?" Max commented with a sly smile.

Mole rolled his eyes. "Might as well be human," he muttered.

Alec led the way to the table Max was sitting at and they both sat down. "What's so funny?" Alec asked, seeing Max's smile.

"Oh, nothing," she told him, the grin getting bigger.

He shrugged but Tegan looked carefully at Max then smiled, glancing over at Alec with raised eyebrows before returning her gaze to Max. Max's grin remained as she shrugged. Tegan's attention drifted to the two other occupants of the table.

"Hey, I'm Tegan."

"These handsome guys are Joshua and Mole," Alec told her.

"Nice to meet you both."

Joshua sniffed. "Cat in your cocktail."

With a laugh, Tegan said, "Well, no cocktail really but yeah, I'm part cat. You've got dog in yours. Definitely. I guess it's good that this cat likes dogs huh?"

"Good," Joshua said with a nod. "Good that this dog likes cats."

She grinned. "Yeah, I'd say so. Oh, Max, would you have anyplace I could work around here? I just need some desk space or something. I don't want to take up Alec's apartment and I feel kinda bad being in there if he's got stuff he needs to take care of here."

"I'm sure we can spare something. Oh, before I forget, your company's computer system apparently fried Logan's computer so if you have a few minutes to spare, could you go over there and help him out?"

Tegan giggled. "Encountered the infamous Pride computer system huh? Sucks for him. There might be no hope for his computer. I'll check it out though," she told Max.

"Thanks," Max said, absently thinking about how much more peaceful her life would be if Logan weren't bitching about his computer.

"I, um, may have figured out a way to get supplies in. If you want me to go through with it you just have to let me know," Tegan hesitantly told Max softly.

Max's head shot in her direction. "You did? How?"

"Uh helicopters. My dad can get us some I'm sure. Pilots too. You just have to let me know what exactly you need."

"What about air patrols?" Max asked with a frown.

"Hacked in. They wouldn't be able to get here in time to stop it," Tegan informed her. "I can show you what I got off the system if you want to see it."

"Yeah, that'd be great. We've got a pretty extensive list of what we need," Max told her.

Tegan looked at her with an odd expression on her face. "What happened between yesterday and now that's making you a hell of a lot nicer to me?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. Just hard for you to get in trouble with Alec up your butt."

Tegan watched as Max stood up. "Back to work for me," she told the group. Mole followed her, saying something about ammunition. Turning back to the occupants of the table, she found Joshua staring at her.

"Little fella too busy. Need fun."

"It kinda looks like everybody could use some fun, Joshua," she told him, taking a bite of her breakfast.

The three of them all looked around the cafeteria. Nearly everybody in the room looked extremely stressed or tired. "You are all gonna just crash if you keep it up," Tegan commented. "Even Federal agents have more fun than you have here."

"And you would know that, right?"

Tegan smirked and pulled her government ID from her pocket, showing it to him. He looked at the ID absently. "Is that thing real?"

"As real as can be," she told him, sticking it back in her pocket.

"Somehow I'm not surprised. Let me guess. The President is related to you."

"No blood relation there. Just by marriage."

"Ah, of course."

She stuck her tongue out at him and his gaze was drawn to her mouth. "Shouldn't have done that," he told her, without taking his eyes off of her lips.

"Why not?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," he told her, turning his attention back to his breakfast.

Rolling her eyes, she turned to Joshua. "So, Joshua, what do you do for fun?"

"Paint! And read Father's books."

"Very nice. I'd like to see whatever you paint sometime."

"Painted flag on top of Headquarters," he told her, proudly.

"I'll take a look at it later today then!" she told him with a genuine smile. "If you're around maybe you can show it to me because that would be even better."

"You paint?" Joshua asked.

"Nah, I can't even draw a stick figure but I love looking at paintings and stuff."

Alec noticed that Tegan had finished with her breakfast and quickly ate the last bite of his then stood up. "C'mon, Tegan. We should go check on your laptop then I'll bring you over to Logan."

Tegan sighed, leaning over the table. "I think he's trying to get rid of me," she told Joshua in a stage whisper. "It was nice meeting you. Hopefully you can show me that flag of yours soon, huh?"

Joshua nodded with a smile and Tegan waved goodbye before following Alec outside. Alec was far ahead of her when she rolled her eyes, calling out, "C'mon, Alec, wait up. I could totally run away right now and then you'd get in trouble."

He stopped on the street, leaning against a corner of a building and watching her as she approached. As she reached him, he pushed her gently into an alleyway then against a wall, trapping her there with his hands pressed against the wall on either side of her head.

"Guess I'm finding out why I shouldn't have stuck my tongue out, huh?" Tegan asked him with a smirk.

"Guess so," he muttered before leaning down and kissing her.

She skimmed her hands up his sides before one snaked up to touch the back of his neck then his hair.

They both heard somebody walking up the street towards their location and Alec jumped away from her, running a hand through his hair. Tegan just smirked again and led the way towards his apartment, passing by the transgenic walking down the street without even looking at him. Alec followed close behind until they reached his building, where he opened the door for her. As she passed by him on her way into the building, he quietly asked, "Did you purr when I kissed you?"

Tegan raised an eyebrow and grinned as she walked inside. "So what if I did?"

"Interesting," Alec said, placing a hand on her lower back as he joined her and they both started climbing the stairs.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

AN: I'm giving you two chapters for the price of one since you had to wait so long for me to update. Please review! It makes me happy to read reviews and definitely motivates me to finish this story. Plus, honestly, I could use some happiness in my life right now.

Colin glanced at the computer, noticing that it had completed the transfer and disconnected his phone before shutting the laptop down. Shoving the phone into his jacket pocket he grabbed the key to the room, put his sunglasses on, and left.

He walked confidently to a nearby run down diner he'd found on his search of the area the day before then stopped short of entering. Looking in through dirt-stained windows, he cursed. Ames White was inside showing a picture to the old waitress behind the counter. Colin narrowed his eyes, trying to make out who the picture was of.

"Hey, buddy, you going in or out? I want my breakfast!"

Colin moved out of the way to let the guy in the flannel shirt and trucker hat by then quickly walked down the street, ducking into an alley, which gave him a perfect view of the diner's entrance.

He took off his sunglasses and watched from the shadows as White and some of his men exited the diner. White spoke to a few of them, sending them off scampering, before turning to the one hovering nearby.

"Otto, we must find this girl. She's posing as a government agent in order to help the transgenics. She might be accompanied by another."

Colin shook his head. "We're posing just as much as you are…which is to say, not at all," he thought. "And no shit, she's being accompanied. You think we'd send her anywhere alone after your shitty cult kidnapped the kid?"

"Sir, is this girl a transgenic?" Otto asked.

"She's a mutant. That's bad enough," Ames told him, scanning the area for suspicious characters.

Colin ducked further into the shadows and closed his eyes. If anything were likely to give him away it would be his eyes, doing their reflective cat thing in the dark. He waited until he heard Ames White walk down the street, talking into his cell phone before opening his eyes and slipping his sunglasses back on.

Watching as a group of people rushing to work made their way down the street in the direction of his alley, he waited until they were passing by before slipping out and moving with them. Time to get to work and check a new sector. Ames White could wait only because Tegan was safe in Terminal City.

&. &. &. &. &. &.

Max looked around HQ from the door of her office, spotting Mole with a cigar in his mouth listening to something Luke was saying. She walked over, a piece of paper in her hand.

Shoving the paper at Mole, she asked, "That look right?"

He looked it over and nodded. "Seems about right. Alec approve it?"

"He hasn't seen it. He's babysitting and right now, him and Tegan are with Logan trying to fix his computer. As soon as they come here, I'll show him."

Mole shrugged, watching Max closely. "You're enjoying this whole babysitting thing too much. What're you really up to?"

She blinked innocently. "I have no clue what you're talking about," she told him, ruining the whole innocent act with a devilish grin before she turned away.

"Yell if you see him, will you?" she called out as she reached her office door.

She settled herself in the chair behind her desk, setting the list carefully to the side. Glancing at the stack of papers awaiting her attention, she groaned and leaned back in her chair. She didn't know how long she stared at the ceiling before she heard the footsteps directly outside her office.

"You okay there, Maxie?"

She looked at the doorway where Alec was now standing. He looked concerned.

"Yeah, just could use a break."

He nodded hesitantly. "Mole said you needed to see me?"

"Oh, the supply list. You need to approve it," she told him, absently waving a hand towards where it lay on her desk.

He walked over, picking it up and looking it over. "Seems right. Mole saw it?"

"Yeah, he said the same thing. How's it going with Tegan?"

Alec looked at her carefully, pausing before saying, "Good. She got some map from her cousin that she wants to work on. We just got back from Logan's. Tegan said the computer's fried and needs a new hard drive. Logan's pissed. Even moreso now because he overheard Tegan tell me that she's the one who created the Pride Corporation's online security."

Max's eyes widened. "Shit. I'll go talk to him."

With a nod, Alec said, "Please do. If he tries to hurt Tegan, I'm gonna have to restrain him and he might end up hurt."

Max looked at him weird, thinking about how Logan would have to be pretty dumb to try to hurt Tegan when he knew about her martial arts training. "Uh, yeah, okay. Everything else okay?"

"I guess. Tegan has some ideas for improvements she wants to run by you."

Max looked at all the paperwork then at Alec. She knew his desk had the bare minimal on it as she'd taken most of his work when she'd assigned him to babysitting Tegan. "You handle it, Alec. I trust you to make the right decisions…just don't screw up."

He smirked. "When have I ever screwed up?"

Max rolled her eyes as he backed out of her office and went to collect Tegan, who he'd left with Dix.

"C'mon, Tegan. You can work on your map in my office and we'll go over whatever improvements you think we should make while we're in there."

She nodded, standing and picking up her laptop, which she'd set down carefully when she'd joined Dix. Following Alec, she looked around some more.

She'd noticed in her few previous trips to HQ that the main room where Dix seemed to spend most of his time was pretty much Central Command. It looked like the offices of Max and Alec, along with what looked like a very basic conference room, were fairly recent additions.

Alec's office was pretty messy, she noticed. Much like his apartment. There were maps stuck haphazardly on all available wall space. A few books were on the floor. There was a very small pile of files on his desk along with a pen, stapler, tape dispenser, and a coffee cup.

Tegan picked up the coffee cup, looking inside and making a face at what looked like a solid black mass. Placing it back down, she shook her head and placed her computer down on an empty and reasonably clean corner of the desk.

"Close the door," Alec told her, already behind his desk and looking at the files.

She stuck her tongue out at him but did as he said. As she closed the door she found a chair, which had been hidden behind the previously open door. Dragging it over to the desk, she sat down, opened her laptop, turned it on, and went to work.

&. &. &. &. &.

Alec closed the last file and looked at Tegan. Her fingers had been clicking away at her computer nearly nonstop since she had sat down. Her eyes were so focused on the screen it almost looked like she was being hypnotized.

He stood and she took no notice of it. With a frown, he walked to stand behind her. He watched as she keyed in code with a speed that surprised him. He watched for another twenty minutes when she suddenly stopped.

Looking over he shoulder at him, she raised her eyebrows. "Want to see if it works?"

Without waiting for an answer, she pressed a few buttons and he was looking at a map of Seattle. "It's not done yet," she told him. "Just what information my cousin has collected so far and, of course, what I have on TC. Plus the sewer systems and basic street maps."

He bent down until his head was nearly resting on her shoulder. "So basically, you're creating the map of all maps of Seattle and we aren't gonna need these anymore," he said, waving with one hand at the maps on his walls.

She nodded once. "That's what I'm doing."

"We'd better not show Logan. He'll get even more mad because he didn't think of it."

Tegan made a face. "I kinda don't care. He annoys me…trying to make it seem like I didn't know what I was talking about regarding his computer. His hard drive is totally fried!"

"Hey, I know," Alec told her in a soothing voice, bringing one hand up to rub the tension out of her neck.

She dropped her head forward and purred very softly but Alec heard it and grinned.

"You know what's great about you, Tegan?"

"Aside from the fact that I'm a genius?"

"I know when I'm pleasing you because you purr."

She turned her head so she could see him out of the corner of her eyes and said, "And you want to please me?"

"Uh huh," he breathed into her ear.

"Know what would really really make me happy?"

"What?" Alec asked, his voice getting husky.

"Being able to explore Seattle. Or riding my bike. Can we?" she asked in a bright voice, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

He groaned. "We can ride your bike within TC. No leaving."

She crinkled up her nose but nodded, standing. "Well, let's go! I might even let you drive."

&. &. &. &. &.

Mole marched into Max's office fifteen minutes later. "Max, I need you outside. Now."

Max shot him an irritated glare but inside she was happy for the distraction.

"What's up?" she asked as she stood and followed the large transhuman outside to where a surprisingly large crowd of transgenics lined the street.

"We having a parade or something?"

Mole glared at her then nodded up the street where an engine could be heard. Max watched, arms crossed over her chest as Alec and Tegan came flying down the street.

"Wow, that thing is FAST! I'm gonna haveta get her to work on my baby."

Mole scowled. "They're distracting everybody!"

With a sigh, Max looked around. "The guards still on duty?"

"…yes."

"Then how 'bout we let these guys have some fun? Morale is getting low around here after all."

Mole grunted and walked away, leaving Max to watch as Alec and Tegan rode by again. Tegan was driving now with Alec holding on tightly to her waist. They were both grinning in delight and Max had to smile at their obvious happiness.

She glanced to her left at the X5 standing there. It was Grady, a good friend to both her and Alec and one of the officers in TC.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

Grady grinned at her. "The girl will be his by the end of the week. He'll get bored within a month."

Max laughed, shaking her head. "Betcha that won't happen."

"How much?"

"My share of any profit in the jewelry Alec and I stole two weeks ago."

"You're on," he told her, shaking her hand.

"What do I get if I win?" Max asked, curious.

"You won't win but hot water for any baths you feel like taking for a month."

Max closed her eyes, imagining it. With a smile, she told him, "You're gonna lose."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

AN: Not a very action packed chapter (and it's kind of short) but we're slowly getting to the good stuff. You'll see! Thanks again to X5898. This story is pretty much dedicated to you for reviewing so faithfully! The answers to your questions are in a future chapter. And Colin may just be arriving in TC soon.

Tegan jumped off of her bike and spun around in place, her arms stretched out at her sides and her face lit up by her delighted smile. Alec stood, watching her with a grin.

She stopped to look at him and giggle. "That was fun wasn't it?"

"Not very productive but yeah, it was definitely fun. Your bike is badass."

"Why thank you. And it was so productive! Now I can work on stuff without feeling like I'm going to jump out of my skin."

Alec gave her a weird look and said, "If you say so."

"I do! C'mon, let's go back. It should be late enough to call my dad so I've gotta see this supply list and add stuff to it because I'm sure you guys didn't put some stuff I want for my improvements."

"Hey, we still have to go over those, Tegan!" Alec said, a little annoyed that she was trying to take over. He followed close at her heels as she made her way to HQ.

&. &. &. &. &. &. &.

Max was in need of another break an hour after returning to her office from Tegan and Alec's bike demonstration. She stood, stretching and decided to go check on Logan.

She strolled out of HQ and to Logan's apartment, looking around as she did. They really did need to do something about the buildings to make them safer and she could see the potential in opening a bar or restaurant for the transgenics to frequent. Something for the younger ones too. An arcade or a skatepark…something. They needed a school too…especially with babies being born. She'd have to mention all of it to Alec when she got back.

She dodged a bunch of X-6's running around and entered the apartment building, running up the stairs to Logan's place. Without knocking, she walked in, looking around for Logan. Max spotted him, sitting at his desk and mumbling over his computer.

"Logan?"

He glanced over and grumbled something she assumed was a hello. "I heard the prognosis on the computer was bad. Dead on arrival type of bad."

Her eyes widened in surprise as he growled at her. "Logan…we'll get you another computer. In the meantime, I'm sure you could find something else to do."

He growled again and she sighed. "Fine…but just as a warning, you may want to stay away from Tegan. You put Alec on edge."

He didn't respond and Max almost wondered if he'd heard her. She was turning away to go back to HQ when he said, "Do you want to go get lunch?"

"Um, yeah, that would be…nice."

"We haven't been spending much time together lately. Since I can't fix this maybe…?"

She smiled, relieved. "That's cool. I mean I do have to work but spending more time together…"

Logan stood with a smile. "Good."

She watched as he went through the process of getting his latex gloves on then he walked over to her and took her hand, leading her out of the apartment.

&. &. &. &. &. &. &.

"I thought we were supposed to be working," Tegan muttered between kisses. "Not that this isn't nice but…"

"Later," Alec told her, running one of his hands through her hair as he pulled her closer to him with the other.

They both jumped apart at the sound of somebody knocking on his office door. Tegan ran her hands through her hair to straighten it out a little then went and sat down in the chair she'd been using in his office, opening her laptop and hitting her email button.

Alec went over to the door, opening it to reveal Max and Logan. Max smirked when she got a good look at his appearance but said nothing. "Hey, Maxie. Logan. What's up?"

"Just came to give you the supply list. I added a few more things to it. Figured we should probably get some school books for the kids. Would your father know some good ones, Tegan?"

"Uh, if he doesn't he can ask my mom's cousin. She's been teaching all of the Pride kids since my parents married."

"Good. Keep in mind that our kids are at an advanced level though."

Tegan raised an eyebrow. "Not a problem. Exactly how far did you get in your hacking? Miss the whole off-the-scale genius thing?"

Logan narrowed his eyes at her. "No, we didn't. But your profile is all we got to look at so as far as we know you're an anomaly."

Shrugging, Tegan said, "Get too wrapped up in the 'poor little Tegan was kidnapped by breeding cult freaks' story then? My brothers aren't quite as smart as me but they hit minor genius levels."

Max looked confused for a second. "How can you say it so glibly? Doesn't it bother you more?"

She sighed, resting an elbow on the back of the chair. "I've had all of my life to deal with it. Does it bother me? Yeah, if I really start to think about it and remember…so I try not to. And when I do start to, I usually try to distract myself. I still have nightmares sometimes when I'm really stressed out or I'm going through something bad. Other than that, I'm sick of being pitied. It happens enough with my family. I definitely don't need somebody who wasn't even there for the whole episode pitying me. It happened. I'm alive and relatively unscathed. You can move on now, thanks."

Max was taken aback but then she started to think of Manticore and she could pretty much understand it. "All right. I can respect that. Anyway, we'll need books and stuff. I was thinking of stuff for the kids too. An arcade maybe or a skatepark. Nothing big but just someplace where they can go to hang out. We could probably build a pool table or something."

Tegan nodded. "I'll see what I can get. I'm gonna email the list to my dad and then call him to make sure he got it and to see if anything's impossible. Go over the drop details and stuff…"

"Sounds good. We're just gonna go spend some time with Joshua before I get back to work."

"See ya, Maxie," Alec said with a sigh. He'd been pretty much ignored during the whole conversation and it irritated him but he'd take it up with Tegan after Max and Logan left.

"Bye! Oh, and Alec? Nice hickey," Max told him, grinning as she turned and left, followed by a smirking Logan.

Alec closed the door behind them then turned to Tegan, growling playfully. "You gave me a hickey?"

Tegan smiled sheepishly. "Possibly. Maybe. Just a small one?"

"I think I'll return the favor."

She watched him warily but didn't move when he jumped at her, burying his nose into her neck. "You smell so good," he told her, his voice rough.

"Probably the cat in you responding to the cat in me…or something. You do realize if you give me a hickey people will know that we're kissing at every possible opportunity, right?"

Alec hesitated then straightened. "Good point. We wouldn't want people to know."

With a shrug, Tegan said, "Doesn't matter to me either way but if you say so."

He looked at her face then said, "Are you upset?"

She raised her eyebrows. "No. Should I be?"

"I don't know. Most women would be…"

"Guess I'm not most women," she told him, turning to look at her computer. "Do you want to discuss the improvements?"

"Yeah, let's get it over with."


End file.
